The One Time The Simpsons HAD To Kill A Character

As one of the most beloved animated shows ever put on TV, The Simpsons have gone through many ups and downs through it's run. The Simpsons has transformed more times than most, and it's unbelievable that most of the original cast has stayed. Though at one point Fox Executives decided to part ways with a beloved cast member, all seemingly over power dynamics and budget issues. But why exactly did The Simpsons team decide to let go of one of their voice actors, only to bring them back a few years later?

#thesimpsons #nedflanders #homersimpson #fox

[HenryBlackie]

As a kid I always assumed the voice actress had died, I never realised the character was killed off over a contract dispute

[TheOneCleanHippy]

So when you said they "HAD to kill a character", what you meant was that they "absolutely DID NOT have to kill a character"?

[raidenvakarian]

They should have done what the cast of "Friends" did - the whole cast stuck together and demanded a pay increase together, threatening to all walk out if they didn't get it. It worked so well that to this day they're still making millions off of royalties. It's wild how the cast of the Simpsons, a similarly big cultural milestone, just took their low wages lying down.

[BenjaminRadish]

For those asking why Roswell took the gig even though it was in LA, she originally was living there when she started the show. She hadn't planned on having a family but her and her husband eventually decided to adopt a child in the early 90s. They tried to keep their daughter safe in the dangerous world of LA, but decided to pack things up after the LA earthquake in '94 so that her daughter could have a safe childhood. People don't understand how scary of a world LA could be until they actually live there themselves. Roswell decided to put her career on hold to raise her family but continued being on the Simpsons by flying herself in three times a week for the table reads, rewrites and cast recording sessions. She did this for about 5 years before finally deciding to ask for a pay raise to compensate for her travels.

In comparison, the main six voice actors were making 125, 000 dollars an episode and Roswell was making 2, 000 an episode. She asked to be raised to 6, 000, which all in all is NOTHING to Fox, but they decided to play with her and only give her a $125.00 dollar raise, basically a slap in the face to her so she quit the show. What an amazing woman, leaving the biggest show on Television to stand with her principles and not give in to corporate greed and slimy hollywood business.

When Roswell was finally put back on the show, her four recurring characters were used sparingly, about once or twice a season, and on the rare chance her characters were given the spotlight, they were written as very b*tchy and hateful, seemingly showing how the writers thought of Roswell. To add insult to injury, Roswell was never allowed to voice any more one-off characters or guest spots like she did before she quit the show and those roles were instead shared with Pamela Hayden and Tress MacNeille. While Roswell of course played her four recurring characters, a marjority of the roles she got were in various gag characters and one episode roles, but without these, she was used significantly less compared to the other voice actors. I'm glad Roswell's story is being told, showing that even if you work on one of the biggest shows, it's likely your being paid peanuts....

[ourgreatsociety]

It reminds me of the episode where Homer has a talk show.

Lenny: I was wondering if I could get a small cost of living raise?

Homer: Interesting.

(immediately replaces Lenny)

[adsable]

Maude gets killed off, Flanderization of Ned begins.

[Guitartube]

So apparently they didn't HAVE to kill a character. They simply didn't want to pay a fair wage.

[freezeburn]

That episode really does look like Fox’s way of throwing a public temper tantrum and saying “Well fuck you!” to Roswell. So disrespectful

[davids]

That’s an episode I’ll never forget. As a kid I was so blindsided by it. Felt so random.

[demonpugo]

“Maude’s death was irreversible” oh please. You mean like homers age, his mother’s death, the year they had kids, dr. Marvin Monroe’s death, or having kang and kudos in a non Halloween cannon episode

[TurquoiseStar]

It goes to show how much voice actors are looked down on (and still are), sometimes not even considered "real" actors because they don't have to do anything physical. There is a clear difference when a cartoon or video game uses people who might as well have been hired off the street.

[Kristoph_Kristophson]

Won't someone please think of the children

[donwald]

Remote work makes useless middle managers feel their uselessness lol.

[unclerukmer]

I've always felt that the Maude Flanders death was the "jump the shark" moment for The Simpsons. Others have said it came earlier. But what I know for sure is I really didn't go back after that.

[nhoj]

I was young ish but still remember this episode so vividly. It felt so odd even back then. I remember thinking that I must have misunderstood the rules of this show and her character would just reappear like nothing happened when the next episode aired 😢

[RS-bipc]

"A slippery slope" ah yes, we can't have workers thinking that they deserve to be treated fairly, or else they'll start expecting to be treated fairly.

[mechajay]

6:21 The writers said it would lead to more interesting stories for Ned, but that just led to him becoming Fladerize (with his last name used as the term). And the episode itself came off mean-spirited.

And yeah he was able to move on and married Enda, that too wouldn't last when her VA passed and so they had to retire the character and have him be a widower again.

[knerf]

I hate how we have sympathy for how actors that have to act on green screens with most of their imagination.

Meanwhile voice actors have done that stuff for years and they're not even filmed

[boopy]

This is why it's important to support our voice actors and artists especially when they're on strike. They're not rich well off people working their dream jobs. They're usually treated like shit TBH.

[devernepersonal]

"but Maude's death was irreversible" lol tell that to Family Guy.